Obama library foundation launches

A group of allies of President Barack Obama on Friday launched the Barack H. Obama Foundation, which will oversee the planning process for his presidential library.

It’s a sign that, even as Obama tries to avoid becoming a lame duck, those around him are beginning to prepare for his post-presidency and think about what will come next.

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The foundation will manage a selection process that aims to pick a site for the future library by early 2015. It’s being led by the president’s friend Marty Nesbitt, former Obama fundraiser Julianna Smoot and J. Kevin Poorman, the CEO of PSP Capital Partners, which was founded by Obama Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.

“I’m humbled and honored that President Obama has entrusted me to lead this effort,” Nesbitt said in a statement. “The president’s future library will one day serve as an important part of our nation’s historical record, and our mission is to build a library that tells President Obama’s remarkable story in an interactive way that will inspire future generations to become involved in public service.”

The foundation will manage an “open and accessible” planning process “in line with President Obama’s longstanding commitment to transparency and fairness,” the group said. The formal process will begin in February with a call for interested parties to express interest in the effort and with the foundation setting out core criteria for the selection process. In May, the foundation will follow it up with a Request for Proposals issued to “the most competitive entities.” The foundation will announce a decision early next year.

The foundation will not accept donations from entities or organizations other than 501(c)(3)s. It will also refuse contributions from foreign nationals, registered foreign lobbyists and foreign agents. All contributions of $200 or more will be disclosed.

The president, first lady and White House staff will not be involved in fundraising until Obama is out of office.

Given the president’s ties to Chicago, not to mention those of the foundation founders — Nesbitt and Poorman are both based there — the city is seen as a frontrunner. The University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago and Chicago State University have all expressed interest in hosting the library, and civic and economic development groups have also hinted at their own bids.

But former Obama White House chief of staff and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said last week that he thinks the city would have the best chance of landing the library if it puts forward a single proposal. It would also help Obama avoid offending fellow Chicagoans if he were to choose one plan there over others.

The University of Chicago was first out of the gate Friday afternoon with a statement on the foundation’s launch. “I strongly believe the Obama Presidential Library would be ideal for one of our neighboring communities on the South Side of Chicago,” university president Robert Zimmer said. “Such a location would reflect the personal and professional lives of the Obamas, as well as their commitments to society. A presidential library would mark a watershed moment for the South Side, catalyzing significant and sustained economic opportunity in an area poised to make the most of such promise.”

The University of Hawaii and the state of Hawaii have also been candid about wanting to host an Obama library or other facility dedicated to his legacy, and they began dropping hints even before Obama was elected. The president’s half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, works for the university, and his parents met as students there. But the Chicago links of the foundation members — plus the decision of the foundation’s founders to announce its launch in an interview with Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times — suggest that the odds are in the Windy City’s favor.

There have also been signs that Columbia University, Obama’s undergraduate alma mater, and Occidental College, where he began his undergraduate education, are also interested in the proposal process. Other institutions and municipalities may also emerge.

Skip Rutherford, a longtime friend of former President Bill Clinton who headed his library planning process, said that the decision on an Obama library will ultimately come down to “the president’s choice.”

“He’ll listen to people around him, he’ll think about his legacy, he’ll look at if he can raise money from this thing if it’s in a certain city or affiliated with a school,” Rutherford said.

While several universities have expressed interest in hosting Obama, and most recent presidents have chosen to affiliate their libraries with universities, he could opt to go it alone. After plans to build Ronald Reagan’s presidential library at Stanford University fell through, the 40th president chose to build an independent library in Simi Valley, Calif.

Even if Obama chooses to link his library to a university — as he might, especially if he wants to build an affiliated institute or school of public policy — it might not necessarily be built on campus. Obama could choose to have a library and think tank in Chicago and agree to the construction of an official museum in Hawaii.

Rather than siting his library on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Clinton chose to build a library and policy school closer to downtown. “He wasn’t trying to lift a particular campus; he wanted to make economic development in Little Rock a priority,” Rutherford said.

While previous presidents’ libraries and associated institutions offer a guide for Obama and his team, there’s no certain course for the president. “There are lots of good models,” Rutherford said, after describing the setups chosen by Presidents Gerald Ford through George W. Bush. “But there will probably be an Obama model that’s different than all the others.”